Police said the victims were sitting in a parked car when gunmen stepped out of a sedan and opened fire.
CHICAGO, Ill. — Two young men were killed early Monday in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood after gunmen got out of a dark-colored sedan and fired into a parked vehicle, police said.
The shooting added another double homicide to the city’s overnight violence and left detectives searching for two attackers who fled before officers arrived. Chicago police said the victims were 19 and 20 years old. One died at the scene, and the other was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he later died. As of Monday afternoon, no arrests had been announced and Area One detectives were handling the investigation.
Police said the attack happened at about 12:44 a.m. in the 5000 block of South Justine Street. The two victims were inside a parked vehicle when a dark-colored sedan pulled up nearby. Two male suspects then got out and opened fire, according to police. The gunmen returned to the sedan and drove away. Officers who responded found the 19-year-old shot and unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The 20-year-old was taken from the South Side block to the University of Chicago Medical Center for emergency treatment, but police said he later died from his injuries. Authorities did not immediately release the names of the two men, and investigators had not publicly described a motive by Monday.
The brief account released by police left major questions unanswered. Authorities did not say how many shots were fired, whether the victims were targeted, or whether the gunmen had any prior connection to the men in the parked car. Police also did not say whether any witnesses saw the shooting from nearby homes or vehicles, or whether surveillance video from the block might have captured the sedan before or after the attack. The only suspect description made public was that there were two male shooters and a dark-colored getaway car. No details were released on the vehicle’s make, license plate or direction of travel. Investigators also did not say whether evidence recovered at the scene, including shell casings or damage to the victims’ vehicle, may help narrow the search.
Back of the Yards, a long-established Southwest Side neighborhood, has often sat at the center of wider Chicago debates over gun violence, policing and the pace of homicide investigations. In cases like this one, the first public account is often limited to a few confirmed facts: time, location, age and sex of the victims, and a basic description of how the shooting unfolded. More detailed records usually come later through the Cook County medical examiner, court filings if charges are filed, and follow-up statements from detectives. That means the earliest hours after a shooting can leave families, neighbors and the broader public with only a partial picture. Monday’s case fit that pattern, with police confirming the double killing but releasing little about the victims’ backgrounds or the events that led up to the gunfire.
The procedural next steps are familiar but critical. Area One detectives are expected to review witness accounts, look for private or city camera footage, trace any physical evidence and work to identify the sedan and the two shooters. If investigators develop a suspect, prosecutors would then decide whether to approve criminal charges ranging from first-degree murder to weapons offenses. If no immediate arrest is made, the case may remain open while detectives continue interviews and compare evidence with other shootings. The Cook County medical examiner’s office is also expected to document the deaths and confirm each victim’s identity and cause of death. Police had not announced a briefing, named persons of interest or released any court information by Monday afternoon.
By daylight, the block had become another Chicago crime scene marked more by absence than spectacle. Neighbors woke to police tape, shell casings and questions that had not yet been answered. The public version of the case remained sparse, and that silence carried its own weight. Police said only that two young men were in a parked vehicle when the sedan arrived and the attack began. There was no indication that either victim had a chance to escape before the shots were fired. The sequence described by police suggested a fast, direct assault, lasting only moments before the gunmen disappeared into the night. For investigators, the case now turns on whether any camera lens, witness statement or fragment of evidence can fill in what those few official lines do not yet explain.
The investigation remained open Monday, with no arrests announced and no motive released. The next likely milestone is a fuller identification from the medical examiner or any future police announcement naming suspects or charges.
Author note: Last updated March 13, 2026.